Bobby pin



July 6, 1954 L. R. ARDOLINO BOBBY PIN Filed Feb. 8, 1951 Lewis R. Ardolino INVENTOR.

BY WWW Em Patented July 6, 1954 BOBBY PIN Lewis R. Ardoli'no; New York, N. assignorto Charles A. Freda, NewYork," N. Y.

Application February a, 1951; Serial'Nm. 210,006.

' This invention relates-"to a n'ewtype of free hand bobby pin the primary object of which by virtue of its construction will by slight impressed digital pressure on the opposing ofisets" of the closed legs. effect a scissor-like action permitting insertion in the hair by one hand of the user,

the release of' which pressure permits the legs to return to their original position with the hair engaged.

Another important object is to provide a one hand hair clip of the above type to obviate" the hazard or necessity of using the teeth or fingernails whileinserting the same into, and engaging thehairi Another important object of the present" invention is to provide a bobby pin including a U-shaped clip whose legs are provided with laterally projecting finger gripping portions that are spaced laterally from each other and which portions are manually forced together to effect a spreading of the legs.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bobby pin of the aforementioned character wherein the finger gripping portions may be pressed from the legs or assume flattened extensions integrally formed with the legs.

A still further aim of the present invention is to'provide a bobby pin wherein the leg-spreading finger gripping portions are so arranged as to permit the same to be comfortably actuated by one hand of a user.

.Other objects'and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the present in vention;

Figure 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 88 of Figure 5.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is dis- 5" Claims. (Cl. 132-50') closed a preferred embodiment of the present in vention, the numeral I0 represents a U-shaped bobby pin or clip that is formed from flat spring material to include a pair of legs 12 and I4 that arejoined by a loop It.

The outer end portion l8 of 'theleg l2.is sinu-- ous or' undulated and alternate humps bear against the flat surface of the leg |4-as shown.

best in Figure 2.

Finger gripping portions or concavo-convexed pieces 20 and 22 are pressed laterally from the legs 12 and It adjacent the loop l6-. The portion 20 is disposed on the opposite side of theclip from the portion 22an-d the portions Ell-and:

As the portions 20 and 22 are manually forced together by the thumb and forefinger of a user, in the directions of arrows 0 and 0' in Figure 3, the outer ends of the legs l2 and M will spread apart to permit hair to pass between the spread legs. As the portions 20 and 22 are released the resiliency of the clip will urge the legs back together.

Figures 5-8 inclusive illustrate the pin in slightly modified form. In this embodiment, the U- shaped clip Ilia includes a pair of legs I21: and l la'that are joined by a loop Ilia. The outer end portion l8a is undulated and includes alternate humps that bear against the flat forward end of the leg Ma. 7 1

The legs Hot and Ma are provided with flat extensions or finger gripping portions 20a and 22a adjacent the loop Ilia. The portions 20a and 22a are spaced laterally from each other andextend from opposite sides of the clip Illa. The portions 20a and 22a are provided with convexed outer edges that are manually forced toward each other in the direction of arrows A and A in Figure '7 to spread the outer ends of the legs l2a and Ma. 7

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. A bobby pin comprising a one-piece body element made of spring material bent intermediate its ends to form legs of equal length that extend one above the other throughout their length, and finger gripping portions projecting laterally outwardly from opposite sides of the legs and movable toward each other to spread the legs relative to each other, said finger gripping portions being disposed in registry with each other, one of said legs being undulated and the other of said legs being flat and having invention, what is the undulated leg resting thereagainst.

2. A bobby pin comprising a one-piece body element made of spring material bent intermediate it ends to form legs of equal length, a first fiat plate integrally formed with and projecting laterally from one of said legs, and a second fiat plate integrally formed with and projecting laterally from the other of said legs, said plates being in registry with each other and disposed one above the other, said plates being manually urged together to spread the legs.

3. A bobby pin comprising a one-piece body element made of fiat spring material bent intermediate its ends to form a pair of legs, said legs being disposed one above the other throughout their length, one of said legs being straight and fiat throughout its length and the other of said legs having an undulated portion engaging the straight and fiat leg, a flat plate integrally formed with each leg, said plates being disposed one above the other and projecting laterally outwardly from opposite sides of the legs, the plate on said straight and flat leg being coplanar therewith, the leg having the undulated portion also including a flat portion coplanar with the other plate, each of said plates having a convex outer edge to permit the thumb and first finger of a user to be placed thereagainst for the purpose of spreading the legs.

4. In a bobby pin including a U-shaped member having first and second leg portions disposed one above the other, one of said leg portions being provided with a crimped portion, a first plate element integrally formed with one of said leg portions intermediate the ends thereof and a second plate element integrally formed with the other leg portion intermediate the ends thereof, said plate elements being substantially parallel and projecting laterally from opposite sides of said leg portions and away from each other, said plate elements being elongated along the longitudinal axis of the leg portions, said plate elements being so located with respect to each other that a line passing through both elements medially the ends thereof and perpendicular to the leg portions will be at right angles to the long axes of the plate elements.

5. A bobby pin comprising a one piece body element made of spring material bent intermediate its ends to form legs of equal length that extend one above the other throughout their length, and finger gripping portions projecting laterally outwardly from opposite sides of the legs and movable toward each other to spread the legs relative to each other, said finger gripping portions being disposed in registry with each other, one of said legs being undulated and the other of said legs being flat and having the undulated leg resting thereagainst, said finger gripping portions being formed by a lateral bulged portion on each leg projecting in opposite directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 762,122 Bigelow June 7, 1904 1,410,948 Miller Mar. 28, 1922 1,798,487 Naito Mar. 31, 1931 1,899,428 Solomon Feb. 28, 1933 1,930,469 DeLong Oct. 17, 1933 2,106,417 Veitch Jan. 25, 1938 2,601,435 Einhorn June 24, 1952 

